Samantha Markle Goes After Sister Meghan Days Before Royal Wedding in Newly Recorded Video

Meghan Markle’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, went after Meghan in a new video obtained by TMZ. Samantha said that Meghan has no right to ask her to refrain from speaking to the media in the days and weeks leading up to Meghan’s marriage to Prince Harry.

In the video, Samantha appears to be sitting in her car, chatting via video call with TMZ, who asks why she’s not honoring Meghan’s wishes to stay out of headlines.

“If it’s about my life or my father’s, there’s something in this country known as freedom of speech. She doesn’t have a copyright on that,” Samantha said, adding that she’s only spoken out in efforts to repair her and her father’s images that she says have been tarnished by tabloids.

“She’s not gonna tell me that I can’t speak about my own life or my father’s, where it’s a matter of public self defense. The media is disparaging us. I’m not gonna take it. She’s not qualified to suggest that I don’t. Under any law in this country.”

“This is not Great Britain. I am a United States citizen. That’s all there is to it. She’s way out of her league to tell me that I can’t speak,” Samantha continued. “I’m not saying anything about her life. I’m talking about my life or my father’s. She has to respect it.”

Samantha went on to say that she hasn’t been in touch with Meghan for the past year.

“Meg and I do not have a relationship now. The last year, I think, has been strained because of what tabloids have said. But Meg doesn’t have a relationship that I’ve seen with anyone in the family,” she said.

When asked if Samantha purchased a wedding gift for the royal couple, she alluded to something “that I thought was really sentimental” that she’d like to give in person.

“I’d like to give it to her in person, but if not, I’ll certainly send it.”

Meghan Markle’s family has been making headlines for the past days and weeks leading up to the Royal Wedding. Her father, Thomas Markle Sr., recently said he decided not to attend the wedding, where he was set to walk Markle down the aisle.

Markle Sr. told TMZ he has a heart surgery scheduled for Wednesday morning in which he’s getting a stent inserted after suffering a heart attack last week and feeling more chest pains on Monday.

Markle Sr. was expected to walk Markle down the aisle, but backed out on Monday after he was caught posing for paparazzi pictures in exchange for cash and royalties. Samantha Markle later confessed that she had suggested Markle Sr. pose for the photos. Markle then reached out to him to express her love and concern for him, putting him back in conversation for the ceremony.

However, this heart surgery has officially grounded Markle Sr. in the U.S. with no chance of getting to the U.K. in time for Saturday’s events.

A Kensington Palace spokesperson issued a statement to media after this incident, conveying that the couple asked for privacy on the matter.

“This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding,” the spokesman told PEOPLE. “She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.”